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I was after a quick and effective idea to make a birthday card, so I did lots of hunting around for some inspiration. I really wanted an idea for a nice flat paper flower, but this seems surprisingly hard to find. In the end, I found this great tutorial on how to make fabric hexagonal yo yos, and decided to try it with paper. It worked really well, although I will say a thicker, better quality paper made it so much easier and gave a nice finish. I used two different sized hexagonal flowers to decorate my card – one on top of the other, finished off with a sequin.

I’ve put together a little tutorial on how to make them, and combined with the fabric tutorial, hopefully it should all make sense! As usual, if there are any problems, please let me know and I’ll do my best to help.

Ingredients

Patterned paper (a bit thicker is easier to work with)

Circle template (I used a glass)

Instructions

1. Cut out a circle from paper – any size will do but the smaller the more fiddly it gets (about 8cm across is a good size).

2. Fold in half and then into quarters. 3. Unfold the circle, and mark the centre (this makes the next few folds so much easier). 4. Fold one edge into the centre mark. 5. Fold the left hand corner into the centre. 6. Repeat stage 5 twice more, until it looks like the example below. 7. Fold the left hand corner into the middle to make a point.8. Unfold the point, and put the left hand edge on top of the right hand edge, as shown below.9. After stage 8, you will be left with a little flappy bit.10. This bit is really hard to explain, but you need to flip the flap under the triangle to the left of the last triangle which you made. I had to try this stage out a few times before I got it right, so please let me know if you get stuck. 11. Tuck the flap in, and make sure all your triangle seams line up centrally.

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A couple of birthdays ago, my friend gave me a lovely bag which has this tweedy flower charm on it. She always said she thought it was something I would make myself, and I have finally got round to it. It took a bit of poking around the work out the design, and I ended up doing something slightly different, as I found it was a bit bulky otherwise. My version is below – made from denim and cotton fabric, and accessorised with a button (of course!) The denim came from a favourite old pair of jeans which had ripped because they were so worn. I chopped off the legs, so may still use them for something else.Ingredients

Cotton fabric

Denim fabric (tweed which doesn’t fray too much would also work well)

Circle template

Cotton and needle

6 inches of denim seam offcut or sturdy twill ribbon

Keyring

Button

Recipe

Using your circular template, cut out 5 denim circles and 4 fabric circles. The 5th denim circle is the back.

Match each denim circle with a fabric one, with right sides facing outwards.

Start folding your petals! Fold the circle in half and then in half again, as shown below. Do this until you have 4 petals.

For the keyring hanger, I used cut off from the leg seam of a pair of jeans, but some sturdy twill ribbon would work just as well. Sew it firmly in place into the centre of the spare denim circle.

Next, arrange your petals onto the backing circle, as shown below. Sew each point firmly firmly into place, and if needed, make strategic stitches elsewhere to get the petals to sit straight.

The final step is to sew a button in the centre of the petals. Again, make sure it is sewn securely.

Although I made this as a keyring for my garage keys, it also looks nice as a bag charm (especially if you match your fabrics well).

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I love daffodils – they are my favourite flower, they make me think of Spring and are even better around St David’s day (1st March). So I’ve been combing Folksy to pick some of the best daffodil-related products on sale. I love this notebook – it looks so classy. On sale at Victoria Snape Pretty Paper Goods at Folksy.I wish I had baby sized feet just so I could wear these! They are so cute. When I contacted Vanda to check she was happy for me to feature them, she said they were the first pair she made and she loves them too. On sale at Appley Dapply’s Store Cupboard on Folksy.A bunnies and daffodil print – how spring-like can you get?! On sale at Grapefruit Moon on Folksy.

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Today’s spotlight feature is on Nora of Leah Rose Designs, who makes lovely cushions, tote bags and other bits and bobs.

I am Nora (Leah Rose Designs ) and I have been sewing, knitting and crocheting since I was about five which is more years then I care to think about! My mother was a City and Guilds trained tailoress and had also trained as a dressmaker with a London couture house. She taught me to sew and instilled in me a love for my craft which has remained with me all my life. My father was an architect and through him I acquired my love of design.

I inherited from my mother a large collection of vintage fabrics and textiles which I have added to over the years. I love everything Arts and Crafts; William Morris’s intricate floral designs, Pugin’s architecture, William de Morgan beautiful tiles the list goes on and on. I tend to collect a lot of sixties and seventies fabric as those sort of designs were so popular then. I have a vast collection of mid-century fabric and some more modern prints. The textile designs tend to inspire my finished products. My favourite items tend to be cushions and bags made from my vintage fabrics.Where to find Leah Rose Designs

Alongside her folksy shop and facebook page, Nora also tries to attend a craft fair a month. I personally love the little Russian Dolls above, I’m so tempted to get some!

If you are interested in taking part in the spotlight series, post a comment and I will be in touch.

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This year, I am launching a series of features of fellow crafters and bloggers. The first feature is on 3 artists collectively known as Saltmarsh and Samphire.Brett Gardner is a photographer who recently made the leap from wedding photographer to nature and landscape photographer following his true passion and has been short listed in national competitions including British Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

A Little R&R by Brett

Diana Stickley originally trained as a graphic designer (possibly a few more years ago than she would care to mention…), and has worked as a visual artist and printmaker for a number of years in Norfolk.

Sun, Sea and Pebbles by Diana

Emma Stickley has a background in visual arts, having studied The History of Art and Design at University. She terms herself a trainee photographer, being a very recent convert to the medium.

Roses by Emma

Our favourite crafts

Our favourite crafts would be printmaking and photography. Diana loves to take inspiration from the seaside and beach as she lives close to the North Norfolk Coast. Beach huts and sandcastles feature prominently in her work. Even tiny pebbles found on the beach can provide inspiration for a fine art piece later on.

Brett is passionate about the natural world. He is based in Lincolnshire near the Wolds and takes inspiration from the woods near to his home (as well as the coast when he come to Norfolk every few weeks). His macro/close up photography can take the patience of a saint, but the results he achieves are well worth the huge efforts.

Emma loves flower photography and enjoys taking photos of plants in situ as well as cut flowers in a simple studio set up.

We like printmaking and photography because of the huge variety of effects and results you can achieve with the same set of tools. The possibilities end only with your imagination.

Any Tips?

We are all fairly new to selling online, having only set up our Folksy shop in August 2013. We have found that setting up a Facebook page for our business in November 2013 has allowed us to get our work out to a wider audience that simply sticking with the Folksy shop. It is also really lovely to share and appreciate other fabulous crafter’s and maker’s work on our page too – we think it is definitely a two way street!

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I found a brilliant tutorial on Pinterest to make a crochet flower on the Lacy Crochet blog. I whipped one up in less than half an hour and used to to decorate my blue earwarmer. It was so easy and looks much more complicated than it is to make.

Next plan is to make a tea cosy – I’m trying to find a pattern in straight lines and with limited counting involved!